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47 by Walter Mosley Walter Mosley's first venture into young adult writing is a historical novel with a twist. In 47, the title character is a young slave on a plantation in Georgia. He's the son of the plantation wife's favorite slave and the woman's dying wish is for the child to always have a place on the plantation. Her husband (an appropriately dastardly slave owner) hates the kid but feels he must do the bare minimum in his wife's memory. What prevents this from being a fairly standard story of the evils of slavery is the entrance of Tall John, an alien in disguise who recognizes young 47 as the future hero of the universe. He teaches young 47 about freedom and 47 teaches him about love, courage, and self-sacrifice. And together they save the world, sort of, but probably you'll find out more in the hinted-at sequel. The book is beautifully written and the combination of fantasy elements with the historical fiction was nicely done. The "lesson" was a tiny bit heavy handed, but not more than you would expect considering the time period and setting. It was a highly enjoyable book and beautifully written, as you would expect from Walter Mosley. If the hinted at sequel does pop up, I'll look forward to reading it, as well. |
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